Tilak Varma, the super talented vice-captain of India’s T20 team, has received a massive and exciting responsibility! He has been named the captain of a powerful South Zone squad for the prestigious Duleep Trophy.
The action-packed tournament will run from August 23 to September 10 at the BCCI’s world-class training centre in Bengaluru. Ricky Bhui from Andhra will be his trusted vice-captain in this big challenge. Experienced coach MN Vikram Varma from Andhra has been given the important role of head coach.
This comes right after Tilak shone brightly in India’s fantastic 3-0 whitewash against Zimbabwe in the T20 series. Selectors from all southern states came together in a special meeting organised by the Andhra Cricket Association to build this star-studded team.
The squad is loaded with top talent, including the veteran run-machine Karun Nair and rising stars like Karnataka’s R Smaran, who smashed a whopping 950 runs in the last Ranji Trophy, plus Hyderabad’s promising K Himateja. This is going to be an unforgettable campaign.
The South Zone team has become unbelievably strong with some fantastic new stars. Shaik Rasheed, the hero who helped India ‘A’ smash Sri Lanka ‘A’ by 1-0, is now in the squad. Goa’s powerful batsman Abhinav Tejrana has also joined this dream team.
Tamil Nadu’s brilliant N Jagadeesan, who shone on the India ‘A’ tour, will be the wicketkeeper and do an awesome job.
Because South Zone reached the final last time, they get a massive direct entry into the semi-finals! They will kick off their super exciting campaign on August 30 at the BCCI ground against the winner of the other match.
Spin bowling will be handled by the tricky left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan and the clever leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal. The fast bowling attack is super dangerous with speedsters K Sai Teja, Tripurana Vijay, Vidvath Kaverappa, and M D Nideesh. This squad is loaded with talent and ready to rock the Duleep Trophy in a huge way.
South Zone squad: N Tilak Varma (captain), Ricky Bhui (vice-captain), Abhinav Tejrana, Shaik Rasheed, K M Himateja, R Smaran, N Jagadeesan (wk), Karun Nair, Tanay Thyagarajan, Shreyas Gopal, K Sai Teja, T Vijay, Vidvath Kaverappa, H Aman Khan, and M D Nideesh